After more than two hours of often circular debate, the Undergraduate Council of Students voted last Monday against petitioning the University Resources Committee, which proposes the University's annual budget, for a $13 increase in the student activities fee.
UCS originally scheduled a vote on the measure for its Nov. 15 meeting but decided to delay the vote until after a special town hall meeting Nov. 20, during which students could voice their opinions on the proposed change. Media outreach efforts took place in the days leading up to the meeting, with multiple campus-wide e-mails sent from council members, an information table set up on the Main Green and opposing opinions columns published in The Herald.
Ultimately, only about five or six people unaffiliated with UCS or the Undergraduate Finance Board attended the meeting.
In a special session following the town hall meeting, council members voted 13 to six in favor of petitioning the URC for an increase - one vote shy of the required two-thirds majority.
In a recent UCS online poll, 49 percent of students said they were opposed to an increase in the fee, which currently stands at $146, while 35 percent were in favor. 17 percent were undecided. At-Large Representative Stefan Smith '09 said the poll results were indicative of student will.
"How arrogant are we to silence the voice of the people because we think we know better?" Smith said. "We say they're ill-informed? 17 percent were ill-informed, and they told us so. ... If we're going to negate poll results, let's throw away all the poll results."
But several members, such as Communications Chair Michael Glassman '09, said the poll wasn't accurate because it oversimplified the issue.
"It's more complex than a yes-no vote," said Glassman, who voted in favor of the resolution. "Opinions change pretty easily, so we wanted to have a discussion."
Several UCS members said the special meeting was hurriedly organized and promoted in order to meet the URC's Nov. 27 deadline for the student government's budget recommendation.
Zachary Townsend '08, a former UCS member who was at the meeting, advocated trying to postpone the URC deadline in order to organize a referendum on the issue. "If you waited (to propose a fee change to the URC), the provost probably wouldn't say, 'I'm sorry, you're two weeks late,'" Townsend said.
"The URC is a professional body and does not tolerate tardiness," responded UCS/UFB Representative Brian Bidadi '07.
"I apologize for bogging us down in what may be political theory," said Townsend, who said the fee should be looked at as if it were a tax and that UCS was faced with a fundamental decision on whether it was going to be a republic or a democracy.
Townsend's proposal of offering a referendum on the issue seemed to gather favor later in the meeting, but it is unclear whether UCS will pursue this option or whether the URC will accept a late budget proposal. Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and URC member Elizabeth Huidekoper did not return an e-mail seeking comment.
Student Activities Committee Chair Hugh Livengood '07 said rising costs and inflation mean the student activities budget needs to be enlarged each year to maintain the current level of services. "This is not a huge windfall for student groups. It's merely keeping in line with what they currently have," Livengood said.
"Not surprisingly, many are against the fee change," he said, "but many don't have to deal with the financial pinch on student groups."
Before the council rejected the resolution, Livengood said an unchanged student activities budget "could mean that next year there will be fewer campus events of less quality."
Members against the resolution questioned groups' need for the extra money, the level of transparency at UFB and the effect of increased costs for students.
"Think about the 60 percent (of students) on financial aid who are going to feel this slight crunch," Smith said.
After a parliamentary mishap in which members accidentally approved the resolution unanimously, UCS Vice President Tristan Freeman '07 responded to an outcry from members by negating the vote "in the interest of fairness." During a roll-call re-vote the resolution failed to gather a two-thirds majority with 13 in favor, six against and two abstaining.
Ultimately, the members seemed to reach the consensus that the student activities fee will need to be re-examined by UCS each year, so they should plan ahead in preparing to discuss any future changes. Last year a $54 increase was proposed, but a last-minute agreement with the Office of Student Life moved club sports out of UFB's purview so that only a $10 increase was necessary.
"I realize we've screwed up, but after tonight we have three-quarters of a year to put in stone a process for next year," Appointments Chair Drew Madden '10 said before the vote. "This year, that isn't an option."
